Carver



March 23, 1954 A. E. WALTERS 2,672,685

CARVER IS nnnnn or HARE mm .5 MAL men s (mm H Patented Mar. 23, 1954CARVER Alfred E: Walters, lseattlegiwash. Application" January 7,19'49,Serlal"No.169;777

' LClaiIn.

My invention relates to carvers and more particularly to carvingutensils such as carving knives and-forksused primarily in carvingarticles of food.

'It is a primary object of my inventionto provide a carver wherein thehandle is disposed angularly downwardly and outwardly from the plane ofthe blade of the carver.

stantia'lly at 45 to the supporting surface. This providesg not onlyforproteotion of the cutting edge. of the knife, but furtherprovid-esfor safety as the cutting. edge of the knife is angularly directeddownwardly.

it i is a; further obj ect of my i inventionvto provide, acarvertwhereinthe outtingzpressure of the operator-is reflected over. the entirehand'o'fthe operator rather than merely being fulcrumed about theoperators thumb as is common in conventional carvers.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide a knife so shaped andarranged that the forearm, wrist, and hand of the operator are in anatural and normal position rather than in a twisted position. This themode of operation of conventional knives and thus carvers of myinvention minimize strain on the operators wrist, provide for more easeof operation, and for more accuracy in cutting. Obviously, where a knifeis being guided and there is less strain on the wrist of the operator,there is less likelihood of accidental cutting of the operator.

It is a further object of my invention to provide carvers of aconstruction which permit balance in the carver and not only aid theoperator in the carving operation, but permit maximum ease and comfortto the operator during the carving operation.

The above mentioned general objects of my invention, tog-ether withothers inherent in the same, are attained by the devices illustrated inthe accompanying drawings throughout which like reference numeralsindicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of one form of knife embodying myinvention, and with the knife blade disposed in a vertical plane;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof;

is to be distinguished from n Fig 4-is a sectional viewtaken'substantiallybn broken line' 4- -4 of- Fig2'3;

Fig. 1 5 is-a sectional view' 't'a ken substantially onbroken line 5- 5ofFig; 3;

Fig.6 isa viewin-side elevation 'indicat'ing the 'manner in which thetools of 'Figsf I to" 5 of the drawings may be laid on-"a support orre'sty'an'd Fig; 7=-is an end viewthereof.

Referring now tothe construction shown in Figs; 1' to 7 ofthe-drawings;-a carver tool; such as blade '18, is provided and the samemay have any desirable shape. However, thecontour t'af the cutting edgelilis preferably provid'das-will be hereinafter explained. A handlemember preferably "is formed of- 'any suitable transparent'ortranslucent *plastic material for decorative effects. The handlemember 20 is disposed-With its longitudinal 'axis angular in twodirections to the plane oftheblade l8. If the' blade lll is disposed ina'verticalplaney with the longitudinal axisthereof in a -horizontal'plane and withthe cutting edge downwardly, as indicated in Figs. 1 'to 5of the drawings; =the longitudinal-*akisof the "'haridle member" 20angles downwardly'from the blade "I 8 i to form an obtuse angle or'substantially- 135; 1 as punctuated 'in -Figi 1- of the drawings, andalso angles laterally therefrom to form an obtuse angle of substantially135, as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The upper surface 2| ofthe handle member 20, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, isconvex in transverse section while the lower surface 22, Of the handlemember 20, is concave in transverse section. The handle member 20 issomewhat pear shaped in plan and tapers toward the outer end portion 23,as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The knife blade I8 is formedportion 24 may, if desired, come to the surface of the plastic handleand be ground to the contour thereof as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 ofthe drawings. Preferably an opening 25 is: provided in the heel portion24 and which is filled provide for a more secure union between the heelportion 24 of the blade l8 and the handle member 20. Also the portion 26is dull to function as a rest in the event it is desired to rest theknife, when not in use, on a supporting surface as is indicated in Figs.6 and 7 of the drawings, In such figures, the knife and handle membermay be supported and have a three point suspension, wherein the knifeportion 26, the heel or butt portion 28, and the toe or outer endportion 23 rest on the supporting surface 21.

When the knife is at rest, it may be placed in the positions shown inFigs. 6 and 7 of the drawings but, when the knife is in use, the bladeill will generally not be angularly disposed to the vertical and willgenerally be in a vertical plane as is indicated in Figs. 1 to 5 of thedrawings. In cutting with the knife, shown in Figs. 1 to 7 of thedrawings, the knife will generally be pushed or pulled away from ortoward the user and, during movement, the pointed end of the blade l8will be pointed downwardly and at an angle of about 45 to thehorizontal. This puts the pressure of the operators fist behind thecutting pressure during pushing of the knife.

Also during use of the knife and if a substantially vertical cut isbeing made of articles such as meat, the handle member 20 will extenddownwardly and rearwardly and the forearm, wrist, and hand of theoperator are in a natural, rather than in a twisted, position. Also thehandle member 20 should be of a size to conveniently fill the hand ofthe operator and thus the operators full hand is being employed and wedo not have a grasp of the handle wherein the operator employs his thumbas a fulcrum and tends to lift up with the outer end of the handle inorder to force the pointed end of the blade downwardly. The operatorsfingers pass about the handle member 20 and the first four fingers willbe received in the concave portion 22 while the thumb may extend aboutthe rounded portion at the heel or butt portion 28 of the handle member20.

The knife of Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings is a knife for a right handedoperator. Obviously to make a knife for a left handed operator, the 9parts can be appropriately changed to provide mated parts.

In the figures illustrating my invention, I have provided knives whichare generally characterized in that the operator closes his hand aboutthe knife and fills his hand so that the cutting action obtains by theuse of the entire pressure of the hand rather than by attempting to liftup the fingers and push down on the thumb as obtains with the use ofordinary knives. Also in the various embodiments of my invention, theiongitudinal axis of the handle is angled downwardly and outwardly fromthe longitudinal axis of the carving utensil as distinguished from beinggenerally aligned therewith in accordance with common practice. Whilesuch angles change with various embodiments of my invention, for aparticular knife or carving utensil, the angles may be adjusted toobtain desired balance so that the knife permits th operator to employnatural and unstrained positions of his forearm, wrist, and hand duringcarving.

Obviously changes may be made in the dimensions, arrangements and formsof my invention without departing from the principle thereof, the abovesetting forth only preferred forms of embodiment.

I claim:

A dinner knife comprising a handle, said handle including an enlargedheel surface contacting portion and a tip surface contacting portion fornormally supporting the knif on a horizontal surface, a knife bladerigidly connected to the handle at the heel thereof, the said bladeextending laterally of the handle when said handle is supported on asurface, the plane of said blade being disposed at an obtuse angle tothe axis of the handle and at an acute angle to a plane through thesurface contacting portion of the heel and tip.

ALFRED E. WALTERS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 673,506 Pitts May 'I, 1901 1,826,250 Jensen Oct. 6, 19312,045,192 Kuhar June 23, 1936 2,105,119 Hindcs Jan. 11, 1938 2,124,615Foltz July 26, 1938 2,382,304 Foltz et al. Aug. 14, 1945 2,421,339 LegerMay 2'7, 194'? 2,520,355 Bell Aug. 29, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 359,100 Germany Sept. 22, 1922

